River Warta/History
Medieval Warta The mainstream separated the island of Chwaliszewo from the Old Town and the Western bend of the river (in the place of today's Mostowa) until the end of the nineteenth century. The Noteć river water fed the city moat, which for hundreds of years defended access to the town. Along the Warta and its tributaries - Cybinie, Bogdanka, Wierzbaku were countless water mills. Poznań has been an important port city for barges and boats connecting the city to distant ports. 11th Century In the ninth century Ostrów Tumski (Cathedral Island) was an island surrounded by water, marshes and rivers Warta and Cybina. This helped to guarantee the safety of inhabitants of the settlement, which at the end of the tenth century was promoted to the rank of the capital town of the young Piast state. At this time there was already a fortified castle, palace and cathedral. In the thirteenth century, a modern city - the new Poznan - rose on the other side of the river.The swampy riverbed separating Chwaliszewo from the Cathedral Island, was known as early as the thirteenth century, as the Old River, the water filling only temporarily, in the spring or during the summer floods. 13th Century A moat was built at the end of the thirteenth century by the city walls. It was fed by the waters of the south branch of the Warta called Notecią, and from the north-west river Bogdanka. The moats played a defensive function, but also economic as the moats were a source of water too. Islands Old Poznan was a series of islands, islets and peninsulas formed by combining moats, rivers and branches of the Warta. These sites are populated with artisans and merchants. One of these islands was Rybaki, lying between the branches of the Warta - Karmelicka Notecią and Struga. Even in 1744 Rybaki belonged to fishermen. Garbary was elongated sand island between the moat and the western arm of the Warta (Little Warta), Renaissance Tanners and shoemakers were established on this island since the fifteenth century and Poznan the largest (after Krakow) center for the manufacture and trade of leather. In 1444 it received city rights, and in the fifteenth century there was a serious commercial competition for the city. Its importance has increased about 1465, when the south-eastern shore of Miasteczko, also known as Łacinąwas linked by the Warta Łaciną. Importance for the economy One of the most profitable sectors of the economy was milling - it was noted that in 1563 in Poznan and surrounding areas there were thirty-two water mills. Not only flour mills , but also cloth (fulleries), tanning, wood, paper, gunpowder, grinding and sharpening mills. There was also mills for malt necessary to produce beer. Later Years Transport From the end of the Fifteenth Century to the Seventeenth Century the Warta significant amounts of grain. A large amount of timber and firewood, wood ash and tar were sent to the port of Szczecin and on to Western Europe . Ships came from Szczecin to Poznan with salted fish, herring, salt, honey and cloth. The Warta quay in the second half of the sixteenth century was on the left bank of the river, below the Dominican monastery - in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was located along the Chwaliszewo and Czartorii. Recreation The Warta river is not only important for economic development. The Warta river area are very popular for recreation, where people can enjoy the wide panorama of the city. One of the most popular parks was formed in 1856 at the height of Tivoli Garden Piotrowo village, with expansive views of the city. Category:History